Welcoming the invitation of Pope Francis to devote one Sunday of the current liturgical year to the Word of God in a special way, the Pauline Family and the St. Egidio Community of Italy joined forces to fulfill the Pope’s dream. The event they organized was celebrated on 24 September, the Sunday closest to 30 September, the liturgical Memorial of St. Jerome, the great Doctor and Father of the Church who translated the Scriptures into Latin (the Vulgate translation). The initiative was a concretization of the yearning the Pope had expressed in his Apostolic Letter, Misericordia et Misera: “It would be beneficial if every Christian community, on one Sunday of the liturgical year, could renew its efforts to make the Sacred Scriptures better known and more widely diffused. It would be a Sunday given over entirely to the Word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people.”
Celebration of the day was marked by initiatives aimed at renewing enthusiasm for getting to know Sacred Scripture by reading and reflecting on it more profoundly so as to allow it to guide one’s life. But in order to attain this goal, it is necessary to restore the Word of God to a central position in one’s life, alongside the Eucharist.
In 1960, Blessed James Alberione organized one of many significant campaigns to disseminate the Word of God, saying: “Jesus Christ remains among Christians in two ways: in the Gospel and in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, he is our nourishment and strength. In the Gospel, he is our light and truth.”
As a preparation for this day dedicated to Sacred Scripture, the Pauline sisters and priests in Italy published a wealth of material centered on the Word of God and carried out many initiatives on this theme.